Change of direction rollers



June 21, 1949. E| 2,473,599

' CHANGE OF DIRECTION ROLLERS Filed Jan. 12, 1946 I M 36 I I A INVENTOR' A. fiahrf fl [dial 1 3 BY- ATTORNEY Patented June 21, 1949 iumreo STA-resgli'C'E 4 Claims. 1

.This invention.relates to a roller assembly" for Zc'ausingz change. of "direction of flexible sheet ma- 'tei'i'al being passed thereover.

.,'Ihe.invention is, particularly useful in "connec- .tion .With the festooning of coated sheet steel or "thel'like in chambers heated to cause settingiof theucoating composition. .The inventionwill first Ibef illustrated, therefore, by description in connection with such use.

Flexible strip steel, although rolled or cut to .vnniform width of strips, cannot be depended upon to have straight edges. Camber is frequent- .lypresent; the edges of the strip vary in distance .fromanimaginarystraight center or median line. vWhensuch a standardstrip is coated and then sentthrough a festoon chamber of conventional time, between side guide members, suitably flang'es on rollers at positions where the "sheet undergoesstrong flexing and change of direction in,.the chamber, the strip creeps from side to side,

' because of the camber or other imperfections. .As. a result, the edges of the stripmust either Ibendagainst the guide members or be shiftedby the guides back into the desired path oftravel.

This shifting .of the strip is difficult to accompli'sh. ,In fact, the sheet either with or without a. coating shows such friction on the conventionall-supporting rollers that the edge of the strip is .;often. bent ordeformed by crowding againsta guide member without the strip itself 'being ac- Itually shifted as desired. Even when'the mechanism is stopped and drawing of the strip through .thefestoon is. nov longer in progress, it is still extremely difficult, even byhand manipulation .with' suitable tools, to shift the strip along "-thelroller' in direction generally parallel to the axisof rotation of the rollers without deforming or permanently marking the strip. .The present invention provides a mechanism which causes the shifting of the strip from side to, side tobe automatic and dependable, without "bending the edges of the strip. 'The invention )provides also special means for returnin the ,edges of the strip to the supporting mechanism if, because of unevennesses of width of the strip Ionjfor other reasons, the strip temporarily be- ..'comes disengaged from the supporting mecha- :nism.

Brieflytstated the invention comprises anassembly for effecting change of directionof flexible strip .material to be passed continuously .ther'eover, including two supportingrollers with ,narrow or ribbonlike, faces, means mounting the rollers. in spaced relationship to eachv other, and

...guide members controlling thatravel of thes'trip, gpreferably-flanges extending from the outer ends -hdgdoftheiace of therollerthat isremote from the flange and "anfidlinglpr inner roller disposed adjacentto the end ofthe taperingzportion' and ofdiameter. somewhat greater than the narrow end of thetapering]portion b'ut-smaller"than'the diameter of the widestpart of the faceof'the supporting rollersfir'st' mentioned.

"In a modificatiomthe spacedrollers maybe in reality .one roller of reduced diameter at posi- 'tionsintermed'iate'the end portions'with the narrow or ribbon likefaces described above.

I'h'ave'found that, with the, rollers ;of narrow faces, the strip materialbeing drawnther'eover shifts readily from sideto's'ide; "As a result, an edge which because of camber extends beyond the median line of'thestrip by m'ore'than the average amountis not,bentbytheiflangewhich the edge strikes. The wholestrip shifts easily away from the flange, to relieve the 'pressure'on the flange and keep the strip. approximately centered betweenthetwo supporting rollers. Also I have found that, with the tapered extension whichibecome of smaller diameter'in direction a'wayifrom the face'of the roller and with the in- .ner or idling roller'of dimensions stated,tempo- 'rary disengagement of an edge of the strip steel from the "face of the roller-because'of decreased ing to insure return of itheedge'ofthe strip when the strip' of normal widthpontacts'th'e tapered portion and the taperedportionrservingas means of returningormountingthe edge "of'the strip of normal width upon the 'part of. the face of the roller of'full width.

In one embodiment the'inner'roller is formed in separate parts'which together total less in width than the normal width between the two supporting rollers. The said partsare adjustable as 'to positions'alonggthe "axis of rotation of "the whole assembly asare "thesupporting rollers. 'As a result the Whole 'ass'emblymay be changed in length .to accommodate strips of different widths.

The invention will .be furtherillustrated by :description in connection" with the'a'ttached drawing towhich' referenfceis made.

Fig. 1 shows a side view'ofmy' assembly partly in section and partly diagrammatic.

Fig.2 is a sectional view on a somewhat larger scale of one of the changeof direction roller asisemblies.

Fig. 3 is -a fra mentarysectional view of a supporting roller that maybefljsubst'ituted for .one of the'supportin rollerspf Fig.2.

There is shown acb ating bath land means including the winding mechanism l-Z for drawing strip steel. or likesheetmaterial l4 through the ,coatingbath under-the immersion roller l6, between the .coacting .pair .of'. rollers l8 -which .re- .move excess of -.coating.materia1.and...smooth the 3 coating, into the treating chamber l0, over the change of direction roller assemblies 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28, and over the guide roller 30.

The construction of the roller assemblies 20 to 28 inclusive is shown in detail in Fig. 2, showing particularly the features of the representative roller assembly 20. This assembly includes two spaced parts or narrow faced rollers 20. Each roller has a narrow or ribbon-like face 32, a flange guide member 34 extending from the edge of the face that is outward in the assembly and a tapering or frusto-conical extension 36. This tapered portion extends from the edge of the face of full width, that is of full diameter, in direction away from the said flange.

There are shown also in Fig. 2 an inner roller that is suitably in the form of a number of spaced parts 38, 39, and 40.

The various elements described in connection with Fig. 2 are mounted centrally on the shaft 42 so that all the parts have the same axis of rotation. The shaft may be driven by conventional means (not shown) but is ordinarily not driven and serves simply as a means of support permitting rotation.

The several parts of the inner roller are together of overall width less than the distance of spacing apart of the supporting rollers at the two ends of the assembly in Fig. 2. Means such as the set screws 44 are provided for setting the said parts at spaced positions along the shaft 42. Also collar 46 and set screw 48 are provided for limiting the outward movement of the supporting rollers 33.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3, the face of the supporting roller is provided with irregularities of uniform maximum elevation above the general plane of the face, as with the knurling shown at 50. This knurling decreases further the area of the supporting cylinder which normally contacts the sheet of material being passed over the change of direction roller.

While various dimensions of the various elements may be used, I have found it desirable to have the flat cylindrical face 32 of width, that is, of dimension parallel to the axis of rotation, not substantially more than 1% of the distance at which the supporting rollers 33 are spaced from each other at their nearest points. In a typical assembly in which a sheet three feet in width extends at its edges approximately to the middle of the faces 32, I use to advantage a width of the faces 32 equal to only to 1 inch and ordinarily about $3 to /8 inch, the tapered portion in this instance being about 2 to 4 inches in length measured in direction parallel to the axis of retation. Between the narrow end of the tapered portion 35 and the outside of the flange 34, the distance is ordinarily a few inches, say 3 to 6. The outer edge of the part 38 of the idling roller may be distant from the axis of rotation A; inch or so more than the outermost part of the adjacent end of the tapered portion 33 and about /8 to inch less than the face 32 of full width of the roller.

It will be noted that the apparatus includes a series of rollers subdivided into two parts. Guides, in the form of the flanges 34 on each of the spaced parts of the rollers, limit the movement of the strip material laterally in direction away from the other of the two parts constituting in effect a complete roller. It will be noted also that the rollers 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 are in staggered relationship to each other but are in line. Their axes of rotation are parallel to each other. As a result stripmaterial, drawn by the 4 driven winder l2 beyond the last of the rollers in the series and applying a pulling force at a right angle to the axes, passes continuously over the several rollers.

The operation of the machine will be largely understood from the description of it that has been given. The strip material to be coated or otherwise processed is passed over the series of change of direction rollers as by being pulled thereover by the power driven winder I2. As the strip material, due to unevenness of the edge, or for other reason, crowds against one of the guides 34', the strip is moved in the direction of the other of the guides, this being made possible by the narrow part 32 of the face of the supporting rollers. With such narrow edge or ribbon face supporting the strip, the strip shifts readily from side to side to accommodate lack of straightness of the edges of the strip.

If for some reason the strip actually varies in width from edge to edge and at a given part of the strip is too narrow to extend completely between the two faces 32, then the strip may rest at one or both edges upon the tapered portion 36. This portion then serves as a supporting part for the narrow strip and remounts the edges upon the faces 32 when the strip in passage over the assembly resumes its normal full width.

In case the strip is temporarily disengaged even from the tapered portions 36, as by the strip becoming extremely narrow in a particular location, then the strip comes to rest at one or both edges upon one or more of the so-called inner rollers 38, 39 and 40. These have a diameter which is somewhat greater than the diameter of the smallest part or end of the tapered portion 36 but somewhat less than the diameter of the ribbon faces 32. As a result, a strip of normal width is supported at its two edges on the ribbon faces 32. It clear the inner rollers and is free to shift from side to side Within the space between the flanges 34. At the same time, the inner rollers are at hand to support the sheet and remount it upon the tapered portions, in case the sheet shows such fluctuations of width as at times to be more narrow than the distance of spacing agart of the inner ends of the tapered portions 3 The roller assembly of Fig. 2 can b expanded or narrowed so as to make the spacing apart of the centers of the ribbon faces 32 approximately equal to the maximum or normal width of the strip material to be sent over the change of direction rollers.

Various kinds of strip material may be passed over the roller assemblies of kind described as, for instance, strips of steel, aluminum, brass, vulcanized fiber, heavy paper or plastic. The strip material used must be sufficiently flexible to undergo flexing when passed over the rollers without putting objectionably heavy stress upon those rollers. On the other hand, the strip must be sufiiciently stiff as not to sag when flexed. Thus, the strip in the position shown in Fig. 2 should extend as a practically straight arch between the faces 32 of the supporting rollers. Also, the strip should be sufliciently strong that the edge of it can support the entire strip in passing over the roller assembly illustrated. While a great Variation in the stiffness and calibre of the strip material is permissible, a typical example of a strip that works well is strip steel of thickness 5 to 30 thousandths of an inch.

The chamber Ii] ma be one which is used to set a coating composition, for heat treating as, for instance, in tempering or chilling an alloy,

or for other uses that are common in the processing of strip material in the form of festoons.

When a coating is applied, as, for instance, in bath to, the coating may be a usual one which is ilowable when applied but sets when subjected to evaporation or to baking. Thus, there may be used oleoresinous coatings, lacquers, heat hardenable but normally flowable plastics, and other conventional coating compositions which require some time for their hardening and therefore are particularly adapted for use on sheets that are to be festooned, so as to extend the time of passage of the sheet through a chamber of given length from the front to the back.

Material of construction of the several parts of my assembly are those that are usual. Thus, the various rollers may be constructed of steel or aluminum. The safety rollers for instance may be constructed also of wood, hard rubber or solid material with a felt cover. Steel is preferred throughout the entire roller assembly.

In addition to the ease of shifting the sheet material from side to side in the assembly of Fig. 2, for instance, and in direction generally parallel to the axis of rotation, the assembly includin the supporting rollers with the narrow faces gives a minimum of marring of coating compositions on the surface of the sheet which is passed and flexed over the supporting rollers. Even though the coating when it passes over roller 20, for instance, is still somewhat soft and deformable under pressure, there seems to be a minimum of marring even of the part of the coating that contacts the face 32 of the rollers. In fact, it appears that there may be just sufficient flexing of the sheet so that it contacts the face 32 at a zone which is somewhat more narrow than the whole face 32, as, for instance, along curved line of meeting of the flat and tapered portions of the face of the supporting rollers.

It will be understood that the part of the strip material between the faces 32 normally contacts no part of the assembly and is therefore free from surface marring.

It will be understood also that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of illustration which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. The change of direction assembly comprising two supporting rollers for strip material to be passed and flexed continuously thereover, a narrow face on each roller, guide members for restricting lateral movement of the strip, means mounting the rollers rotatably on the same axis and at a distance apart of the faces of the rollers approximately equal to the width of the strip material to be sent thereover so that an edge of the strip material normally rests upon each of the faces, the said guide members being flanges extending from the outer ends of the supporting rollers and each of the said faces having a topered portion that slopes inwardly on the edge of the face remote from the said flange and serves as a guide and remounting member so as to return the edge of the strip material to the part of the face of the roller of full diameter When the material is temporarily disengaged from the face.

2. The assembly described in claim 1, including an inner roller, of diameter larger than the smaller end of the tapered portion but less than the diameter of the face of the roller at the largest part, and means mounting the inner roller adjacent to the smaller end of the tapered portion and centrally with respect to the axis of rotation of the said rollers and tapered portion, so that the inner roller serves to return, to the tapered portion, strip material temporarily disengaged therefrom.

3. The assembly described in claim 1, the said inner roller being divided into several parts and the assembly including means for shifting the said supporting rollers and parts of the inner roller, along the axis of rotation, so as to vary the spacing of the said parts and the overall width of the assembly.

4. The assembly described in claim 1, the faces of the rollers being provided with knurling in the form of irregularities of surface of uniform maximum elevation above the general plane of the faces, thereby decreasing the area of contact between the said faces and the strip material passed thereover.

ROBERT A. LIEBEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,595,239 Minton Aug. 10, 1926 2,094,950 Kohler Oct. 5, 1937 2,199,999 Jensen et al a- May 7, 1940 

